Review: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Read (October 3 - 7 2012)

Book: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Publication Date: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Number of Pages: 304

Genre/s: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Source: ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

And girl created boy…

In the beginning, there was an apple—

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he? - (source)

“It's the fate of all creators: They fall in love with their creations.” - taken from an uncorrected ARC 

Eve and Adam is a tricky book to judge. If I have read it back then, I'd surely enjoy it more. Much more.

In a way, Eve and Adam is a fluffy read for me. It almost seemed like it doesn't take itself too seriously and I really appreciated that. I had my first few laughs just a few pages in, a rare feat I guess, what with the types of book I'm reading now. So that's a really pleasant surprise.

Evening, or E.V. to Aislin or Eve to Solo, is the daughter of Terra Spiker, the owner of the Spiker Biotech. Her mother is a force to reckon with and everyone is incredibly afraid of her. Evening has been in a terrible accident and that's where he meets Solo. The boy with the blue eyes and a surfer's hair and with whom she feels strangely attracted to. But Evening isn't really normal nor is Solo who is intent to bring Terra Spiker and her corporation down.

So before we all go through this, can someone please tell me who's EmmaRose in the synopsis? Did I somehow miss this while I was reading because for all I know, Eve's mother is called Terra. OK, now that's out of the way let me continue.

There's something missing with Eve and Adam. Like something's off and I'm still trying to figure what exactly is it. It's funny and entertaining; the concept is intriguing. I just don't understand what stopped me from enjoying and loving this fully. Maybe the "carefreeness" of the writing backfired or the villains were somehow laughable and pathetic. The villains were indeed pretty pathetic which I guess is how the authors intended them to be, but I really didn't dig it so much. Eve is an OK protagonist as well but I didn't really like her as much as Solo and Aislin. 

I'm excited to see more of Adam though. Not because he's hotness-personified or traffic-stopping or jaw-dropping or cab-hailingly gorgeous but because I want to learn more about him and I want to know if he will grow to be an ordinary human boy. Oh now that sounds like Pinnochio. But perhaps, I just want to see more of Aislin in action. She could be jarringly likeable. 

Cupid's Verdict:

2 1/2 Cupids

A copy was provided by the publisher at no cost via Netgalley
in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1) by Pittacus Lore

Read from January 6 to
January 8, 2012

Book: I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1) by Pittacus Lore

Publication Date: August 3, 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins

Number of Pages: 480

Genre/s: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.

Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.

They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next. - From Goodreads

Excerpt: "It's the last thing to go,"Henri says. "When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope."

John and his Cepan(guardian) has always been on the run since they arrived from Earth after their planet, Lorien had been destroyed. They are aliens and they were being hunted by the Mogadorians, the same enemies that destroyed their planet. There are nine of them and they can't be killed out of order. Three are dead and John is next that is why they decided to travel again to another small town. Stakes are even higher this time so John has to do everything to conceal his true identity and protect his secret. But John did the unthinkable. He had drawn attention to himself. He even made a friend, Sam and got himself a girlfriend, Sarah. Also, John is getting stronger and with that comes the bigger risk of exposing his true self. In the inevitable battle between the Mogadorians and the remaining Loriens, John must make his last stand and he will come to know the true meaning of loss and the bittersweet power of sacrifice. 

I Am Number Four has never been high up on my TBR list. I am not fond of alien stories and I've already watched the movie. It was decent but not enough to really get me to pick up the book. But one fateful day, a classmate of mine lend me this book and I found myself highly entertained.

There was something about this book that was enjoyable and it was really interesting to know about 9 Loriens traveling to Earth to regroup and learn all their Legacies so they could defeat the Mogadorians and claim back their planet. One thing that also struck me was, I Am Number Four characters were one of those characters that would have bored me to death. They were not exactly the most flat characters out there but they came close. Maybe it was because I have seen the movie and I know what was about to happen that kept me really gripped by the story but honestly, I never found myself bored. Shocking, right? I even got a little teary eyed on the quite sad turn out in the story. I knew then that the characters had somehow managed to get under my skin and had me invested on them.

I could not really account the entertainment of I Am Number Four to it being exceptionally written either. It was pretty straightforward. He did this, he did that. He reacted, he retaliated. It was simple yet there was magic between those unassuming ventures. I was interested about John discovering his Legacies and how he handled his huge crush on his soon to become girlfriend. He's loyal and brave. He would disregard everything for the people he holds dear. Even for his dog, Bernie Kosar. Sam is a good friend. Sarah is pretty but I was afraid at first that that'd be her only asset. But she redeemed herself on the later half and showed me why John really felt that intense connection with her. Henry for me was a perfect guardian for John as well.  

If there's something that could be taken from I Am Number Four it is the underlying message about war and the devastation it could bring. That the never ending quest for superiority and power would bring destruction to Earth like what happened to the planet of the Mogadorians, what the Mogadorians did to Lorien and what they're trying to do again, this time to Earth. And that there's hope even at our darkest hours. 

I Am Number Four did not really make me shriek my head-off chanting "Best Book Ever" over and over like a raving lunatic. But it was packed-full of adventures, thrill and entertainment. I am certain that if the rest of the books in the series would give the same amount of likeability or even more, Lorien Legacies series would definitely sit on my well-beloved series shelf. And with that I am awarding my first half-rating ever for this book. Something I've never thought of doing. 

Cupid's Verdict:

3 1/2 Cupids

PS. If you have watched the movie and decided to skip this book altogether, I dissuade you to do so. There was a lot of minor and some major discrepancies between the movie and the book. And honestly after much reflecting, I actually liked the book better than the movie.